Xiaomi Redmi S2 launched with 16MP front camera

Xiaomi has unveiled their latest mid-tier smartphone, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 today in China. It is the company’s first smartphone in its Redmi S-Series. The new smartphone is focused highly on selfie enthusiasts. The smartphone’s biggest highlight is its selfie camera, which boasts a 16-megapixel sensor with 2-micron pixels. This, combined with AI-based beautification features, makes it the ‘best Redmi selfie phone’ ever, the company quoted.

Xiaomi Redmi S2 overview

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 looks quite similar to the recent Xiaomi smartphones like the Redmi Note 5/Pro and the Mi 6x. It has an 18:9 display but with thicker bezels on the top and bottom. On the top, it has 3.5mm headphone jack while the base features a USB port with a speaker grill. On the back, it has a dual camera set up and a fingerprint sensor located at on the left top corner and the centre respectively. The antenna lines run around the border of the phone, making the back panel look neater.

The smartphone sports a 5.99-inch HD+ 2.5D curved IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The display comes with a 70.8% NTSC colour gamut. Xiaomi has, however, not revealed any information regarding display protection.

In the photography department, the Redmi S2 comes with dual camera setup at the back, which includes a 12MP primary sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 1.25μm pixel size, and a 5MP depth sensor. Both the cameras work in tandem and allow you to add DSLR-like bokeh effects to your photos. Key camera features include Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF), Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS), and Full-HD video recording support. For selfies and video calling, there is a 16-megapixel AI-powered front camera which has a dedicated portrait mode to add those bokeh effects to the selfies. The front camera comes with 2-microns pixels, combining four pixels into one single, oversized pixel. The front camera offers AI Portrait Mode, AI Smart Beauty, Front HDR, and Face Unlock (with face recognition).

The Xiaomi Redmi S2 is powered by the Snapdragon 625 octa-core CPU, clocked at 2.0 GHz coupled with Adreno 506 GPU. The smartphone is available in two variants featuring 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage, and 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The phone also comes with a dedicated microSD slot for storage expansion up to 256GB.

Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and Micro-USB port. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, infrared, and proximity sensor. The Redmi S2 also sports a 3080mAh battery and measures in at 160.73×77.26×8.1mm. The phone also weighs 170 grams for a more balanced heft. The smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI 9 skin on top. It also includes iPhone X-like gesture control support, allowing you to disable the on-screen navigation buttons, and make the most of the full-screen display.

Redmi S2 Price and availability

Xiaomi Redmi S2 will go on sale in China at a starting price of CNY 999, which is around Rs 16,500. The top-end model of the Xiaomi Redmi S2 is priced at CNY 1299 (Rs 21,400 approx). The smartphone will be available in China in three different colour options – Rose Gold, Champagne Gold, and Platinum Silver. However, there is no information about its availability in Nepal. We, nonetheless, will keep you posted if we hear anything about a possible Nepal launch.

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